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Yeager: An Autobiography
by
Chuck Yeager
,
Leo Janos
'The secret to my success is that I always managed to live to fly another day.'General Chuck Yeager was the fist man to fly faster than the speed of sound. He was also the World War II fighting ace who shot down a Messerschmitt jet with a prop-driven P-51 Mustang - Chuck Yeager is The Right Stuff.He first joined the US Air Force at eighteen, fresh from school, and by twent
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Paperback
,
448 pages
Published
August 1st 1986
by Bantam
(first published 1985)
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Community Reviews
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Chuck Yeager grew up poor facing hardships and personal tragedies, but his family provided for his necessities through a strong work ethic and the tough times were put in the rearview mirror. When he started school he was seated alphabetically noting:
“I sat in the back in the daydreamer’s row with the other Ys.”
. He professed that his dreams were not about flying, but like a fish to water he landed in aviation. Full of ambition and gifted with keen eyesight he literally soared to uncharted terri
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Read this after Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" and was drawn to the character of Chuck Yeager. Written in the first person Yeager's (with co-write Leo Janos) style is spare and lean. This is an easy read and would be recommended to anyone with an interest in the history of the US Air Force, NASA, and flying. Yeager appears to be a likeable, but somewhat taciturn guy whose courage and loyalty to his colleages, family and country is unquestionable.
I saw General Yeager speak at the Pacific Aviation museum and he was absolutely hilarious and that was what prompted my reading this book - that and I liked that movie The Right stuff - and my little brother is in the AF so... gotta represent! I really enjoyed this book but I must admit that the parts I enjoyed the most were not about Yeager - they were about two extraordinary and unique women in his life - Pancho Barnes and Jackie Cochran. I'm wondering if there are biographies of them because
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If I could jump inside one person's head Being-John-Malkovich style and experience their entire life, beginning-to-end, without regard to anything but the sheer roller coaster thrill of it, I'd probably pick Chuck Yeager. (Granted, the guy's not dead yet. But unless he meets a truly horrendous end--eaten alive, say, by Bengal Tigers, while slow-roasting over a barbecue pit--I'd consider myself a truly lucky man to see everything he's seen and do everything he's done.)
Ripping through the sound ba ...more
Ripping through the sound ba ...more
I loved this autobiography. It is written exactly as (I imagine) Chuck speaks, and provides an earnest perspective on his rise to the greatest pilot in the USAF. The stories are told very well and you feel the tension and danger of flying the aircraft just as Chuck did. You also revel in his success as he performs amazing feats in these experimental craft. Finally, the stories of the characters he met throughout his life are so very interesting and feel almost as if they could be made up! He liv
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The life story of Chuck Yaegar, penned in his own hand in simple easy to read prose that details his life from his early childhood until he retired.
Yaegar had a long and successful career and is considered by many to be the greatest test pilot of all times. As the first man to break the sound barrier, he is largely acknowledged as a true American hero, but his career is also full of many other achievements.
Yaeger was a man with little education who came from humble beginnings in West Virginia. ...more
Yaegar had a long and successful career and is considered by many to be the greatest test pilot of all times. As the first man to break the sound barrier, he is largely acknowledged as a true American hero, but his career is also full of many other achievements.
Yaeger was a man with little education who came from humble beginnings in West Virginia. ...more
This book really gives great perspective on the evolution of fighter aircraft. Though a bit technical at times, he never loses you. Great stories on WWII, and how Yeager was the best out there. Really enjoyed hearing about the toll on his family life and all the inherent risks involved with doing a dangerous job, but doing something that you love.
I've always been interested in aviation so when I came across this book, I had to read it. While his life and times were, to say the least, extraordinary, I didn't find the book so. Maybe it's that famous pilot understatement (think, "Houston, we have a problem") but he managed to make the most extraordinary things sound mundane. More like a mission report on his life than the truly great story it actually is. I liked the secondary perspectives and, if fact, if Glennis wrote a book, I'd love to
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In this day and age, the average person may never have heard of General Chuck Yeager. Unless, that is, they are a military aviation nerd like myself. I consider the 1920s-1970s to be the golden age of military aviation. They were a time filled with breakthroughs and advances many had never even dreamed of: the first bombers, fighters, jets instead of props, rockets, the Space race, etc. Without doubt, the most famous of these events was the landing on the moon in 1969. Outside of this however, t
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This is an excellent book that contains not only Chuck Yeager's point of view, but that of his wife, friends and colleagues. To say the least, he had a very interesting life: came into the Army Air Corp a private; became a fighter ace and test pilot; broke the sound barrier; flew a MiG 15, flew across communist Europe; left the Air Force a general.
Here's something crucial I discovered in this book:
"If you love the hell out of what you're doing, you're usually pretty good at it, and you wind up m ...more
Here's something crucial I discovered in this book:
"If you love the hell out of what you're doing, you're usually pretty good at it, and you wind up m ...more
James Hart
Yeager is a book about a man named Chuck Yeager who is a member of the U.S Air Force. He faces many struggles involving life or death situations and depression. In this auto biography you will find out what it is like to be a member of the Air Force. Chuck Yeager will make friends throughout his Air Force career and watch some of them be blown up in combat. The author used great detail when he would talk about soaring through the air, and it made you feel like you were actually there. ...more
Yeager is a book about a man named Chuck Yeager who is a member of the U.S Air Force. He faces many struggles involving life or death situations and depression. In this auto biography you will find out what it is like to be a member of the Air Force. Chuck Yeager will make friends throughout his Air Force career and watch some of them be blown up in combat. The author used great detail when he would talk about soaring through the air, and it made you feel like you were actually there. ...more
i really like the book and got use to the style with comments from others sprinkled in. This book really shows that anyone with natural talent and a good work ethic can really accomplish almost anything. He definitely worked hard and also played just as hard. I never realized how many times he almost died both as a test pilot and as a fighter pilot. It is really a great read from a great American with the eyes of an eagle and an engineering degree that he started to earn as a child and continued
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All I knew about Chuck Yeager when I picked up his autobiography was that he was famous for breaking the sound barrier — that's it. But I was instantly fascinated reading about his life in the Air Force, which spanned several decades, from World War II to Vietnam, and I was especially amused by the stories he told of his tricks and showing off and camaraderie, all of which seemed quite justified given his feats.
Yeager's autobiography covers his entire impressive career as a combat pilot, test pi ...more
Yeager's autobiography covers his entire impressive career as a combat pilot, test pi ...more
This is one of the best biographies I've ever read. If you are the least bit interested in aviation, you MUST read this book. It covers from his childhood through his retirement. He talks about flying in WWII, including getting shot down, escaping through the Pyrenee's into Spain, shooting down a German jet fighter, breaking the sound barrier in the X-1, flying several other X-planes, crashing and being severely burned, test flying a MiG, being stationed in Vietnam and Germany as well as his fam
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Eighty thousand feet. A nightime sky with flickering stars at 10 in the morning. Up there, only a wisp of atmosphere, steering an airplane was like driving on slick ice...
approaching 1650 mph teh fastest any pilot had yet flown, and the fastest that any straight-winged airplane would ever fly...
I had glimpses of light and dark, light and dark. Spinning down..
I barely remember the next moments. But then my head cleared and I was at 5000 feet lining up with the lakebed.
Maj gen Albert Boyd - "No pi ...more
Loved the WWII dogfight scenes, and just about all of the action scenes for that matter. He certainly had guts, and I appreciate his long military service. His personal life, and his comments looking back on it as a 60+-year-old, was much less appealing.
The book was written like an autobiography with commentary from his wife and associates. That structure was brand new to me, and I didn't like it--made for lots of repetition and strange "Oh he was so amazing!" moments on the one hand while he u ...more
The book was written like an autobiography with commentary from his wife and associates. That structure was brand new to me, and I didn't like it--made for lots of repetition and strange "Oh he was so amazing!" moments on the one hand while he u ...more
Jan 16, 2008
Angela
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
history buffs, aviation buffs, adventure buffs
Recommended to Angela by:
a 737 A&P mechanic
For anyone who likes aviation, Chuck Yeager has a ton of insight and the book practically bursts with adventure stories. Yeager the pilot was in the right place in the right time, with the right skills and training, to become a bad-ass and make his mark on the world. I understand that his personality, ach-hem, is less than gentlemanly, but what does that matter, since his airmanship is so impeccable? The man was brave, and the death-defying stunts depicted in his test-pilot chapters boggles the
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Chuck Yeager was a very inspirational book about a man who loved to fly airplanes. For those of you who don't know, Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier, or Mach 1. This book includes the complete history of his life up until his retirement from the Air force in 1975. The book also includes short stories about him told from other important people in his life such as his wife and best friends in Air force.
I thought the book was very well written with actual facts and details ...more
I thought the book was very well written with actual facts and details ...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Chuck Yeager is pretty much the ultimate badass. He's the quintessential fighter jock and doesn't take any pains to hide that fact or apologize for anything he's done. Over his storied career he's shot down planes during WWII, escaped across France after ejecting from his plane (and saved a seriously injured fellow soldier along the way), flown some of the most dangerous and experimental of aircraft, earned the trust and devotion of many soldiers under his command
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I had been encouraged to read this years ago by my father, a fellow aviation enthusiast, and I'm glad I finally did. Everyone enjoys hearing the stories of our heroes, and the adventures of Chuck Yeager are no exception. If you have the slightest interest in the history of aviation, World War II, or just what it's like for a simple man to be thrust into an extraordinary life, you'll enjoy giving this a read.
Seems hard to believe that not too long ago we did not fly or travel with the ease we do today. General Chuck Yeager broke the speed of sound and it open the door for space and all that encompass modern movement. This book traces Yeager’s humble beginnings and how he was able to change the world. He now break the door open to his incredible life that was built for speed. Some great photographs and stories.
I'm not interested in planes and their specs, and I don't usually read autobiographies, or military books, but this book was riveting from start to finish. What a fascinating life and what an adventure! I can't believe it's non fiction. I highly recommend this book. A couple sections were racey.
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One of the main books I remember from my childhood/teenaged years. I must have read it a dozen times or more. It made me want to become a test pilot more than anything else, and likely was a main formative element of my lifelong passion for aviation.
For those interested in the history of aviation, especially in the U.S., this book gives you incredible insight into the man that was the model for so many other pilots. If you read and enjoyed The Right Stuff, then dive deeper and hear from the man himself.
Yeager's biography has a "you are there" intimacy that will stick with you long after you're finished. His contributions to space and exploration are second to none, yet his modest, chatty prose makes him seem like an old friend. I was privileged to meet him several years ago when he came to Fairbanks for a fundraiser for the Safari Club. I couldn't believe I shook his hand, and when I asked for his autograph and told him I'd driven 100 miles he laughed out loud and said "the hell you say!" and
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According to Tom Wolfe's definition of The Right Stuff, Chuck Yeager is the personification of that quality. He loved what he did so much that it didn't even occur to him to mind that it was deadly. I knew he was a great test pilot, but I didn't know how involved he was with the airplanes from the ground up. After reading this book, I completely understand why the NASA astronaut program wasn't interesting to him. He could never be relegated to observer status, but rather had to almost become a f
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If you like listening to old men tell stories of their exploits, this book is as good as it gets. Yeager's tales evoke all the excitement I sought as a child at my grandfathers' feet searching for inspiration, even if it did sometimes require a bit of imagination to believe what I heard. Yeager made me want to believe everything he had to say, even at his most outrageous or fantastic, and the story of his life was inspirational the way only someone from the Greatest Generation could deliver. I h
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I bought this book the day it came out in 1985. I still have it. I have read it cover to cover at least 50 times. That pretty much tells you what a fascinating read this book is !
Right place at the right time. That is the story of Chuck Yeager's life. This book is very well written and will be difficult to put down once you start reading. A good auto biography is one in which you can hear the voice of the author in your head as you read. Clearly you can hear Chuckie and quickly you will be amazed at his simplicity and yet a type of genious that never gets full recognition for well earned accomplishments. In other words, Forrest Gump the fighter pilot.
The only thing that ...more
The only thing that ...more
I gave this book to my brother in 1985 for Christmas. I then borrowed it and read it. So 30 years later I again was reading General Yeager's amazing life story and again am in awe. What an amazing individual.
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Brigadier General Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager, USAF.
Veteran of WWII and the Vietnam War. Achieved "ace" status during WWII, and post-war became the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
His decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Pres ...more
More about Chuck Yeager...
Veteran of WWII and the Vietnam War. Achieved "ace" status during WWII, and post-war became the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
His decorations include the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Pres ...more
